By Michelle Fabio

A study recently reported in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture has shown that along with konjac gum, sesame seed, yeast and pumpkin, tomatoes may actually offer protection against certain strains of Salmonella bacteria and E. Coli.

The study out of Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands found that these foods act as “binders” for bacteria, so that bacteria attaches to them rather than to your cells, lowering chances of gastro-intestinal infections from such bacteria and/or lessening symptoms.

Dr. Petra Becker, who led the study, said, “The importance of fibre, particularly from certain foodstuffs, in maintaining Read the rest of this entry »

By Michelle Fabio

On the heels of the recent salmonella outbreak in the United States that may or may not be linked to tomatoes, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that tomatoes be classified into groups to aid in trading and the setting safety standards, helping to prevent future similar contaminations.

This announcement came after a week-long, 124-country meeting of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, a food safety body who aims to “improve the quality and safety of fruit and vegetables,” according to WHO scientist Peter Ben Embarek.

Under the international code, tomatoes are to be classified by their size, shape, color, firmness and defects.

“Now it is much clearer for everybody what Read the rest of this entry »

By Michelle Fabio

After being under investigation as the possible cause of a recent salmonella outbreak in America, tomatoes have been ruled safe to eat by the Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA has now turned its attention to raw jalapeño and serrano peppers as the possible culprit; the confusion as to whether tomatoes had been involved may come from the fact that both of these ingredients are found in Mexican foods like salsa which many of those affected had eaten.

No tomatoes from farms in Mexico and southern Florida have tested positive for the rare Saintpaul strain of salmonella that has caused over 1,000 illnesses in Read the rest of this entry »

By Michelle Fabio

With the source of the recent salmonella outbreak in the United States still under investigation, one food microbiologist in Canada is turning his attention to preventing the bacteria from ever becoming a tomato-associated problem again.

Keith Warriner of Ontario’s University of Guelph is working with graduate student Jianxiong Ye on a vaccine that would prevent the growth of salmonella bacteria in and on tomatoes during the growing and harvesting phases.

Warriner and Ye have identified that a combination of microbes (an Entrobacter and a bacteriaphage for you scientific types) may effectively stop salmonella from Read the rest of this entry »

By Michelle Fabio

As the number of reported illnesses from tomatoes contaminated with the Saintpaul strain of salmonella nears 400, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) still has not been able to identify the source of the bacteria.

In the past couple weeks, the FDA has focused its investigation on parts of Florida and Mexico, but now the agency’s associate commissioner for foods isn’t even sure the source will ever be found.

“We may not ultimately know the farm where these came from,” Dr. David Acheson said. “Some trace-backs that we thought were looking pretty good have been falling apart.”

Other parts of Florida and Mexico have been excluded as possible sources for the poisoning. Read the rest of this entry »

By Michelle Fabio

Michigan has now been added to the list of states hit by the recent outbreak of salmonella food poisoning believed to be linked to certain tomatoes, making a total of 17 states affected.

Meanwhile tomatoes from many more states have been deemed safe by the FDA. See the complete list of safe sources of tomatoes.

Remember that even Read the rest of this entry »